Target Breach Losses Hit $148 Million

Target’s databreach is the gift that keeps on taking. Almost eight months after the chain disclosed its huge databreach, it’s still paying for the cleanup. Target announced Tuesday (Aug. 5) that for its current quarter, which ended Aug. 2, another $148 million in cleanup costs were racked up.

On the plus side, Target received a $38 million check from its insurance company to slightly offset its cleanup costs. “These expenses include an increase to the accrual for estimated probable losses for what (Target) believes to be the vast majority of actual and potential breach-related claims, including claims by payment card networks,” the chain said in a statement. “Since the data breach last December, we have been focused on providing clarity on the Company’s estimated financial exposure to breach-related claims,” said John Mulligan, Interim President and CEO, CFO of Target Corporation. “With the benefit of additional information, we believe that today is an appropriate time to provide greater clarity on this topic.”

The only databreach cleanup cost that the chain truly cares about, of course, is the impact on revenue as some shoppers get nervous and opt to shop elsewhere. No new figures were released relating to revenue, but Mulligan offered a vague assurance that they are trying. “While the environment in both the U.S. and Canada continues to be challenging, and results aren’t yet where they need to be, we are making progress in our efforts to drive U.S. traffic and sales, improve our Canadian operations and advance Target’s digital transformation,” he said.